What Are Musician's Friend And Guitar Center Up To?

Gretsch G5427T Hollow Body Guitar

[CKS]

Thanks for taking the time and effort to educate us.

[cdavidlake]

I've had this happen to me many times. I got tired of getting obvious (and often poorly-packed) GC floor models so now, whenever I buy from MF, I always be sure to (1) order over the phone, and (2) clearly specify that I want "factory sealed from the KC warehouse" *only*. Sad that this has to be the case - should be totally unnecessary. If this is their business practice, it should be clearly stated. It is not. Glad you're calling them out.

[annunacky]

Just bought a used Peavey Classic 30 from GC. Listed as in great shape. Shipping to my local store. Let’s hope it’s what I ordered.

[zbaby]

I bought a DiMarzio neck P.A.F. from Musician's Friend once and it had an intermittent short in it. But I couldn't send it back as I didn't get around to installing it until about a year after I bought it. I'm thinking it may have been a returned item that they sold to me. So always install pickups as soon as you get them to make sure they work.

[bassplayer]

I wouldn’t be surprised if there’s eventually a class action lawsuit over their deceptive sales practices

[johngavlik]

Just today, I ordered a telecaster to be shipped from guitar center online. I asked the agent on the phone to have it sent to My local Guitar Center for pick up (to foil the porch pirates). Not possible says He, must be shipped to home address, I say ok ship it, and an hour later I get a shipping notification from Musicians friend. I've had good experiences with both retailers but still have a weird feeling about the way it went down. I should have been told the true reason it couldn't ship to store..."because You're not actually buying it from Guitar Center"

[RaymondLandis]

Great message for us to hear... I used to buy from Musicians Friend many years ago, but now I usually buy from Sweetwater or else if Guitar Center at all, locally at the store. Guitars in general though, only Sweetwater! My relationship with my personal Sound Technician is so valuable. I may pay a slightly higher price, but I always get exactly what I expect. If there's ever a concern, it's handled directly by my Sound Technician and worked out really fast!

[seabreeze]

I ordered 2 Orange amps for my studio from Musicians Friend. One came and had a label from Guitar center in Washington I think it was? The ground on the cord cap AKA Plug in was broken. I e mailed Orange they sent me a new one. The plastic bag cord from MF came in was ripped and their were no decals for Orange amps . The second one AMP came a few days later. All packaged nicely and sealed decals and cord in great shape. Moral of the STORY. SWEETWATER from that day on.

[Charles]

I certainly hope you sent a copy of this video to Musician's Friend and have already been in contact with some one over the phone ! To me that is false advertisement. That is why I deal directly with the maker themselves !

[MrPhotonjockey]

I ordered a “new” Yamaha acoustic (AC3R) from Musician’s Friend at a fair discount. It came in with fingerprints all over it and the batteries already installed (and dead). I called to complain that I was sold a new instrument but received a demo. They offered me a better discount. I was so angry at the deceptive business practice that I said no. I saw an AC5R (made in Japan instead of Indonesia) for a similar discount, plus a further ‘special’ member discount . Long story short, I saved over $500 a $1600+ guitar and it arrived in pristine condition, case included.

[隠れた花]

There was a tele at guitar center that have two chips through the finish and wood plus missing the selector switch tip and I tried talking a discount on it and they said no because it’s a new model even though it’s on the floor and completely beat up.. they also said they had no more in the back

[garryw.robertsmusicandmore]

I have bought guitars from Musicians Friend without any problems until three years ago. I ordered a brand new Guild guitar. It was shipped from Guitar Center wrapped in BUBBLE WRAP! It was obviously a floor demo model, but it was shipped to me as a brand new guitar at a new price! I will buy strings, picks, and other stuff from MF, but not instruments.

[monkusbee]

My new d-18 special from GC was sold to me with a shaved down saddle. Marker line still visible.

[MitchHaman]

Hi Joe. I had a good experience with Musicians Friend. I ordered a ESP/LTD EC10 on a Thursday and it was at my front door the next day less then 24 hours. I could tell it came from my closest GC by looking at the tracking info. I think I've bought like 3 new guitars from Musicians Friend in the last several months and a USB audio interface.. All in great condition and packaged very good. Musicians Friend also said, I could not return the guitar to GC if I had a problem, I had to return it to them. Anyway, my experience with Musicians Friend has always been good. The Gretsch you have here is beautiful. I've never played a Gretsch but that may change soon. As always Joe, another great video.

[gshankaran]

Anything shipped from GC is suspect. They usually pick up a floor model, throw it in whatever box they can find and ship it to you. And more often than not, the truss rod adjustment tools and other accessories will be missing. I just send mine right back when that happens.

[knuckleheadcollections]

Good Lord, we've all had the same experiences. What has happened to customer service these days? Where is the integrity? I ordered a PRS SE CE while I was actually in a Guitar Center store. They did not have it in stock, so they ordered it for me and had shipped to my home. I thought for sure I would get something from the factory. Instead what I got was an 'open box return'. At that point I really didn't realize what had happened but the guitar just played terribly, so I took it back and returned it. They reordered a guitar for me, and had it sent to my house, and the second guitar that came, was brand new from the factory. It still had the plastic on it and everything straight from PRS. Why did I have to purchase a guitar, and return it, just to get what I should have got in the beginning? I'm going to do my best to never buy another guitar from Guitar Center if I can help it.

[wkkxucb]

Thank you for doing this you have educated me

[thejason]

You still can return a musicians friend item to guitar center. I recently did just that

[ocljtc]

I hate Guitar Center, I once ordered a TASCAM DP-03SD Digital Portastudio 8-Track Recorder, and when it arrived, the box was all beat up and all the packaging inside the box was already opened. The power cord was unraveled and music was already recorded on the unit (not the demo song). I called customer service and the woman I was talking to was just giving me b.s. "Oh, it was an open stock item" and it wasn't, no where on the GC website did it say it was open stock. I asked if I could return what they sent me in exchange for a new one, she said "No, it is a discontinued item" That is a complete lie, that unit is still manufactured today and this issue was about 5-6 years ago. I never shop at Guitar Center, that company is really shady. I shop Sweetwater, great merchandise and great customer service.

[隠れた花]

Shipping out floor models is a very common practice for GC/MF.. so much so I refuse to shop there unless it’s an exclusive to them